No doubt, the WC is the biggest stage in football. There's the pride and immortality within the game and the fact that it happens every four years, but is it really the best? No. I think otherwise.

The quality of football is definitely better in the UCL than the WC. The UCL begins a month after the new season and with the players all fresh from their holidays, play with a better fitness and a clean bill of health. The WC is staged right after a season is over, most of the players are fatigued after a draining season.

Not to mention that, team chemistry in the national teams is well behind than those of clubs. The players are well accustomed to each other at a club playing weeks in and out, whereas they appear once or twice in 2 months to play an International friendly or qualifiers, or every four years for a major event like the WC.

The fact that Sir Alex Ferguson agrees on this argument is a testament to the fact.

In the WC, managers tend to be so conservative and as a result most likely, we end up watching a low score boring affair, with teams and players being highly conscious about the risk factor. Whereas in the UCL, with the home and away legs in the Group Stage and KO rounds, top managers of Europe show their tactical prowess and mind games are plotted against one other and not to mention the fact that they take their home games seriously and defend it like a fortress!

Rivalry. Yes, there is hardly any rivalry on the International stage. But at the club level, there is a chance that derbies end up being on the UCL and moreover, new rivalries are born every season or two.

You would want to disagree on this, but the truth is, the modern footballer would love to play UCL football over WC football. After the end of a season, you hear players searching for new employers who play UCL football or European football at best(Europa League). Times have changed, the ball is in the court of UCL, and players recognize this, they want to play the best football, they want the UCL. Of course, it's not that they wouldn't want to play the WC or defend their nation. Being called up for one's nation, is a by product of all the hard work done in a club season(s).

The players are more loyal to the club. The clubs pay astronomically to their players compared to the meager sum that they earn from their NT, apart from their individual performance bonuses or team bonuses.